Formations
Formations are tactical alignments of units, that may be used in field-battles by the player or by NPC parties with a leader character (such as a lord or unique's party, or an army led by a Hero Adventurer). The player's party will automatically be put into formations once a battle starts, with infantry in a shieldwall, cavalry in a wedge, and archers in ranks. The player may change, or remove these formations at will by using the in-game hotkeys listed below. * ; - Square: This will form your units into a randomly assorted square-shape. This formation uses its many ranks to halt charging cavalry, and keep them from reaching your archers. Though it will help immensely in defending your archers, it leaves those in the square highly vulnerable, so expect casualties. Most effective with many low-value fodder units to distract, while your archers do the killing. and Mettenheim Regular Infantry randomly assorted in a square.]] * L - Wedge: This will form your units into an assorted pyramid-shape, with the highest level units at the front. This formation is best used for cavalry, as it will substantially increase their mobility. It will, however impede your cavalry's effectiveness while charging, as most units will get caught on each other due to their very close proximity. Most effective when used to get your cavalry behind the enemy very quickly, then undone to send them charging into their flanks. This formation can also be used by infantry, as a less randomized square, with your highest level infantry always at the front. * J - Ranks: This will form your units into an assortment of lines, with the highest level units at the front. This formation, most effective against other infantry, uses your highest level units to do the most work, while your more vulnerable units stay behind them, coming out to give support. It can be used with great effectiveness if you have many highly offensive melee units (such as Empire Gladiators or Fierdsvain Berserkers) supported by ranged throwing units (such as D'Shar Ghazi Dervishes or Empire Legionnaires). at the back.]] * K - Shieldwall: This will form your units into an assortment of lines, similarly to ranks, but with shield units at the front. This formation can be used to protect shield-less units from ranged attacks, while moving on them. You may wish to order your shield wall to stand closer, as sometimes arrows can get through the cracks and hit the units in the back. Be wary of using this formation on an incline, as your shield-less units may stand higher than your shield units, leaving them totally open to ranged attacks. in the back.]] * U - Remove Formation: This will form your units into the single line formation of native Warband. Formation will also be removed upon charging your units (though, they will still keep remnants of their formation as they charge). , set in the native line formation.]] Note: You may find while using formations, that your units will refuse to properly follow movement orders (most commonly with archers). This is a bug and can be fixed simply by removing their formations. All formations can be turned off completely through the camp menu, PoP Options. Category:Game mechanics